Multi-agent based distributed cooperative control of air-conditioning systems for building fast demand response

The utilization of air-conditioning systems for fast demand response is particularly valuable in addressing urgent power balance requirements, owning to their large electricity consumption and inherent energy flexibilities. Limiting the number of operating chillers has proven to be a cost-effective means for direct load control in many studies. However, the conventional feedback control fails to distribute the limited cooling supply evenly, resulting in inherent uneven temperature rises among individual air-conditioned spaces when using this direct load control. To tackle this issue, a distributed cooperative control approach is put forward in this research. The proposed control is achieved based on a multi-agent system (i.e., valve agents and damper agents) in a self-organizing way. Each agent performs on-site control using the collected information of its own and its neighbors in a distributed architecture. The validation tests demonstrate that the proposed control approach is capable of efficiently managing the uneven temperature increases in different zones/spaces of the building. During the demand response event, a significant reduction of 2,562 kWh electricity is achieved, accounting for 19.7% of the electricity consumption using the conventional control.